On a Cold Day

It’s a cold day in the AK. So I thought I would serve up something to warm the soul. I have been reading the book of Romans a lot lately and have been captivated by a single verse. It’s unique, interesting, and relevant. That verse is Romans 12:1:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

This may not at first glance seem significant, but look a little beeper. The second to last word of this verse is very powerful. Reasonable, what is reasonable? It seems to me that we live in a culture that’s unreasonable. Unreasonable gas prices, unreasonable expectations, unreasonable behavior. Yet Paul urges us to give our self as a living sacrifice and that is our reasonable service. I looked up the word reasonable and found it means:

1 (of a person) having sound judgment; fair and sensible

2 as much as is appropriate or fair; moderate

In a jack up world Paul said it’s reasonable or it’s sound with good judgment, it’s appropriate and fair, to live as a sacrifice to God. It’s our normal everyday lives that we use to honor God. It’s reasonable to live with integrity and honor. In a society that wants the shortcut and a quick fix let’s not fall into the trap of saying that serving God is unreasonable, or too time consuming. But let’s live our lives serving God and others, cause after all  it is just reasonable service.

p.thad